Sula Essay Example

Sula Essay Example Sula Essay Sula Essay Essay Topic: Sula Chad Roush Ethnic Lit. Sula Essay 10/27 Women are typically characterized for having relationships with each other that are not always loyal or true. The ups and downs I witnessed from Sula and Nel in Sula made me think about my own life, and if I felt I knew two females who could endure more tragedy than this friendship brought on. To think of the sneakiness of Sula to betray her friend and have relations with her husband, and the bitterness of Nel to doom Sula as evil in the community I wondered how these two could ever find their way through the drama and slander. The answer is which I came up with owever is they reconciled because these women needed each other. The reputation of Sula in the bottom is not one in which an individual would pleasantly welcome of themselves. Rumors about her promiscuity circle the town of this young woman, and although she deserves the title of being a slut I feel Sula is accurate but as a person Sula is misunderstood. With a broken support system at home from her mother and grandmother she is often times felt like no one loves her, and turns to sex to find the feeling of compassion from another human being.. I feel she left the bottom because of these things. One can picture the life in which she ived away from the bottom and how she must have dealt with her emotions and thoughts inside her head and its not a pleasant one. However her trip back to the bottom reveals her sophistication does not make up for the void left in her heart due to lack of male compassion. Her relationship with Nel is one that is very helpful to her though. Sula does not go to her mom to talk nor her grandmother and so all of her thoughts and emotions are shared with Nel. An example of Sula opening up to Nel in the text is when they reminisce over Chicken Little and how his laughter still remained in their heads. They left the funeral holding hands which is a true sign of the two being close to one another. Sula has no one else to open up to about these things and so her relationship with Nel is so valuable its hard to believe she crosses her in the way that she did. Ultimately I feel Sula does indeed have compassion for others but values her own needs over those around her. The upbringing she endured is the reason I feel she has an unusual and dirty connection with males, and how they interact together. Had Sula been raised with a father or a mother who was not a whore herself, maybe her actions would have been much different. Moving to the other side of the friendship, we have Nel. The experience of Sula leaving the bottom is interesting to me because while Sula left and encountered different life experience, Nel remained in the bottom with the community and conformity. Often times in life leaving home provides a sense of self actualization and you find who you truly are. Sula came back to Nel proving to still be herself, and not changing tor the better. Nel recalls their childh the same way Sula does, but goes about her day to day business in a different fashion. Her life has stability, she has a husband and a safe home. Where as Sula endures tragedies in her home such the burning of Plum. As the lives of these two women are very different they find a connection together, and share thoughts and feelings as best friends would. Thats where I feel we are told the most about Nel. Knowing the reputation Sula has she looks beyond it and ultimately is a fool for it. The relationship of these two women is the focal point of this text. The negligence for conformity from Sula is the polar opposite of what Nel believes in and practices every day. In this world we say opposites attract and that is most definitely the case for these two. Every friendship however experiences rough patches and ultimately Sula and Nel faced one that could not be worked through. Sulas actions of sleeping with Jude should have came as no surprise to Nel, knowing her past and demons she battles every day. The shock to her I believe is that Jude would betray her as well. Nel was the one who wanted nothing but friendship from Sula who had accepted all aspects of her. Now she wanted everything, and all because of that. Nel was the first person who had been real to her, whose name she knew, who had seen as she had the object of life that made it possible to stretch it to its limits. Now Nel was one of them. Nel contemplates how after cutting Sula out of her life, the thought of her still lives with her, Mhy, even in hate here I am thinking of what Sula said (page 108) this shows me that her connection with Sula was so strong that even after Sula acted against her she still pondered about her. I feel that the action of Sula sleeping with Jude is not the reason for the friendships end however, but Sula neglecting her wrong doing to Nel is what changed them. Nel has known all along of Sulas wrong doings, but was tolerant of it. When it was her own husband she Just needed Sula to realize what she had ruined. Sulas difference in opinion about the matter truly showed the difference in moral beliefs for the two. I believe the upbringing of them is the reason for this. While Sulas mom Hannah was a wild and immoral woman Nel had the complete opposite for a mother. The tale of these two can be traced directly to their childhood in my mind. The difference in experience and upbringing is night and day in this situation. With the fact that Sula watched her own mother burn we realize the fact that she truly did have mixed feelings for her and was completely affected by the comments made pertaining to her liking Sula but not loving her. Sula also has no strong male role model in her life which leads to further male issues down the road for her. The ultimate verdict of Nel claiming her and Sula to be girls again stems from her remembrance of all the old times with Sula and her actually understanding that one can not always escape a tragic childhood or distorted family situation. With Sula being completely gone one would think of the good times they had, and strive to find the positive aspects to someone. Aside from making love with Nels husband Sula served as a rock of a best friend. The memories from before the tragic things in their life made them girls again.